Family escapes Canandaigua fire

Saturday

Jul 19, 2014 at 6:37 PMJul 19, 2014 at 6:37 PM

By Megan Brandow mbrandow@messengerpostmedia.com

CANANDAIGUA — A family with two young children escaped from a fire inside their Pleasant Street home Thursday evening.Canandaigua Fire Chief Mark Marantette said the kitchen fire started just before 6 p.m. at the home of Greg and Lucy Stoyles at 259 N. Pleasant St., Canandaigua.Lucy Stoyles was cooking on the stovetop when oil in the pan ignited, Marentette said. Greg Stoyles then moved the pan to the floor and attempted to smother the fire before leaving the residence, while Lucy Stoyles escorted her two children outside and immediately dialed 911.The Stoyles and their children, Isobel, 7, and Caedman, 5, were able to escape the home unharmed, Marentette said, but there is extensive smoke damage throughout the home. The family was able to provide their own lodging while displaced from the home, Marentette said.Two former Canandaigua firefighters who now work for the Gates Fire Department, Mike Bates and Jason Harris, were two doors down from the home when the fire occurred and responded immediately. They entered the dwelling with a fire extinguisher, but were driven out by the smoke conditions, Marentette said. Bates and Harris kept the situation in check until firefighters arrived by closing the front door behind them when they exited the house, which limited the amount of air feeding the fire, Marentette said.Canandaigua firefighters were dispatched at 6 p.m., arrived at the home in less than four minutes and put out the fire by 6:09 p.m., Marentette said. All the smoke alarms in the home were sounding when firefighters entered.Nearly 30 firefighters and support personnel from the Canandaigua, Veterans Affairs and Crystal Beach fire departments responded to the scene and searched both floors of the house in zero-visibility conditions to make sure no one was inside. The family’s dog, originally reported to still be inside, had escaped on its own and was found outside, Marentette said.The Farmington, Shortsville and Rushville fire departments covered the responding departments’ protection areas during the fire.Marentette said this fire reinforces the importance of fire safety practices in the home — testing fire alarms, having a fire extinguisher accessible in the kitchen, designating a pre-determined meeting place outside the house and closing all doors when leaving the house. Marentette also reminds people to never move pots or pans involved in a fire, never re-enter the home and call 911 as soon as possible.